Blurred Lines
by heavenbenttotakemyhand
Summary: Our favorite characters from NCIS LA regroup after rescuing Kensi in Afghanistan. Attempts to tie up lose ends and reconcile the irreconcilable. Lots of Densi. Deeks and Densi backstory. Total fiction. Insert other disclaimers as you see fit.
1. Prologue

The slam of the front door startled him out of sleep and filled him with fear. He started shivering. And was sweaty. Maybe he was getting sick. What was wrong tonight? Marty had done his homework, ate all of his dinner, didn't complain about even one little thing or even ask for a puppy, helped clean up after dinner, was nice to his Mom, and had gone to bed on time. So he couldn't understand why his dad was so mad. Wait. Had he said his prayers? Maybe he had fallen asleep before he could say his prayers.

Quickly he got out of bed and knelt at his bedside.

Deep down he knew it was too late. His dad was already yelling at his mom. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying so he quietly walked to his door and cracked it open.

Now that he was eleven he had to take better care of his mom. When he was ten, he didn't really know how to do that. He had let his dad beat up on his mom. His dad punched his mom in the face, knocked her against the wall, and did other bad things to her. Now that he was older he couldn't let that happen. He didn't want his mom to cry all the time and be hurt. He saw a commercial on TV and knew that hitting his dad hitting his mom was not right.

Last summer, Marty had been playing in his friend Ray's pool, Ray's mom saw his bruises. Bruises that everyone knew came from his dad beating up on him. It was really hot that day and he had forgotten to wear his shirt in the pool. He felt stupid. He dove down deep and kept only his head above water after that.

"Somebody needs to shoot that son of a bitch," Ray's mom had said to Ray's dad later. Marty and Ray weren't supposed to be listening. They quietly inched backwards from the head of the stairs back to Ray's room.

"She's right, you know," Marty said. "I'm going to be eleven soon. I can't let him beat us up no more." He was shaking as he said it, arms wrapped around his slim chest.

Now the time had come. Ray and Marty had already found all the guns in Ray's house. They knew some were locked up in a safe but there was one in the basement just above the door that wasn't locked up. When Marty held it with two hands it wasn't too heavy.

Marty was shaking as he pulled the gun out from beneath his bed. It was already loaded. Ray had helped him with that since they knew from TV that there wasn't enough time to load a gun once you had to use it.

At the top of the stairs Marty had a clear view of his parents. He and Ray had figured he better get real close or else he would miss. They hadn't had a chance to practice shooting the gun yet but Marty figured he could do it. Slowly and as quietly as he could, Marty made his way downstairs.

It was good he was there for his mother this time. His father was hitting her with something and she was crying and screaming. His mom saw him just as he lifted up the gun and yelled for him to stop. But he and Ray had figured she would say that. Because she was a girl. But they were boys so they could use guns. So Marty shot his dad.

Afterwards there was a lot of blood. Marty threw up. His chest hurt. His mom was supposed to give him a big hug and thank him. His dad was supposed to be dead but instead he was just hurt and screaming worse than his mom had. The police were supposed to tell him that he did a good job. But instead he got sick, right in the blood. His ears hurt and his head hurt.

His mom had yelled at him. She was mad. Why was she mad?

He and Ray had planned that Marty would hide the gun in the bushes outside and tell everyone that an intruder had shot his dad. It hadn't worked on the TV show they watched but they thought since Marty was only eleven it would work. But instead his mom told the police she had shot his dad. So they took her away. Then he was screaming as loudly as he could. He didn't care if they knew.

He told anyone who would listen that he had shot his dad. Why wouldn't they listen? They spent all that time taking care of his dad even though he didn't deserve it. Then they were mean to his mom. And they wouldn't listen to him.

He finally collapsed on the floor, his throat raw. Ray said he'd come over if he heard the shot but he never came over. He must not have heard the shot.  
He was so tired that when the police were busy he went back upstairs to his bedroom and laid down on his bed.

A man's voice woke him from his sleep. It was a man they saw when they went to church. Sometimes he or his wife would be on the altar doing the reading or talking. The man sat down on the edge of his bed. Marty sat up. His mom had warned him about men wanting to be in bed with him. He knew he had to say No. Maybe he should run out of the house. His heart beat so hard in his chest that he thought he might die. Where was his mom? Why had he shot his dad?

But this man told him that he wanted Marty to come stay with him for a few days. His name was Bernard. He had a wife named Barbara and two sons about Marty's age. Marty knew that because he had seen them at church. Sam and Jim went to another school because they lived kind of far away. They were nice to him at church and even gave him a high five when his team played their school's team at basketball.

Marty's dad was going to be in the hospital and his mom was going to be busy for a few days, the man explained. Would Marty like to come stay with him and his family? He had already packed some clothes for Marty.

When Marty sat up he realized he had peed his underpants. He had taken off his pajamas when he got into bed because they had blood on them. He was too embarrassed to get out of bed. He bunched up his Batman comforter around his legs to hide his mess. But the man named Bernard knew. "I have two boys about your age and sometimes when they are upset they pee their pants. It's okay. We'll just put some clean clothes on and no one else needs to know."

The man named Bernard took him into the bathroom so he could get his toothbrush. Bernard took a washcloth and wet it under the sink. Very gently he told Marty that since he was eleven he knew he didn't need any help washing himself. Then he could put on the clean Superman pajamas they had pulled out of Marty's dresser. Marty was glad when he left him alone in the bathroom. Maybe he wasn't one of the bad man that his mom had warned him about. He wasn't sure how you could tell.

He was afraid that Bernard would get mad at him. He better do what Bernard said. Then if it didn't work out, he could run away to Ray's house. Ray would probably find him first. Ray would ask the neighbors where Marty had gone and then come find him. That was their back up plan.

Ray had told him to wash his hands after the shooting because of the gunshot residue. If he had it on his hands, it meant he was the killer. But then he would go to jail and they didn't want that. He just wanted to live with his mom but without his dad beating them.

But his mom had told the police she had shot his dad. Their plan hadn't worked. Maybe he needed to leave the residue on his hands just in case. He didn't want her to go to jail. He really messed up bad this time. No wonder his dad had to beat him so much. Now he was crying like a baby, holding the washcloth with two fingers so he could wash off the pee without washing the gunshot residue off his hands. It took him a long time to get dressed because he was shaking so badly.

The man named Bernard finally told him he was opening the door. He sounded worried. The door opened and the man named Bernard helped Marty pull his shirt over his head. Marty had messed up again. Now the man named Bernard had seen the bruises on Marty's chest. There was a new one that really hurt. The gun had smacked him in the chest. Wait until he told Ray about it, he thought. Bernard handed Marty a Kleenex so he could blow his nose.

"I shot my dad," Marty blurted out. He felt like such a baby. First he hadn't killed his dad so his dad was going to be very very angry with him. Then the police arrested his mom. And his mom yelled at him. She didn't love him anymore. His dad was definitely going to kill them when he got out of the hospital. Then he'd peed his pants. And now this man had seen his bruises and seen him crying like a little baby. It was a terrible day. Ray was probably going to think he was a wimp for not killing his dad. Ray probably wasn't even going to be his friend anymore.

"That's okay, son," the man named Bernard told him. He showed Marty his watch. It was almost one in the morning. "It's late. Let's go to my house and in the morning we'll get this all straightened out. Your mom asked me to take care of you if anything happened to her. She said to be sure to let you take as many of your toys and stuffed animals as you'd like to my house. So let's get those out of your room and get going."

That sounded good to Marty. He wanted to bring his stuffed animals with him. Well maybe just his stuffed Akita dog named DaKota. He slept with it most nights and Ray didn't even make fun of him because he slept with the green dinosaur with blue spots that Ray had since he was a baby. He better just bring the one stuffed animal. He didn't want Mark or Jim to make fun of him and tell the kids at school about it. Just because he'd screwed up and not killed his dad didn't mean he was a baby.

In the morning Marty woke up when the mom named Barbara came to tell the boys that it was time to get up for school. They were in the room next door. He was very warm. There was a very heavy blanket half on top of him. He looked at it; it looked at him. It blinked. It wasn't a blanket. It was a very big black and brown dog. The dog licked his face. He was kind of grossed out and kind of liked it too.  
"We have pancakes, boys" the mom said. She stopped at Marty's room as the boys ran past her. The boys named Mark and Jim ran back and looked into the room at Marty.

"Hey Marty," they said. "Come on, Moose." The heavy blanket dog stood up, stretched, and then jumped out of bed, running down the hall after the boys.

"WALK down the steps boys! No sliding down the railing! Mark- I said no sliding. Walk!" The mom called after the boys but from the bangs and screams it sounded like they were sliding down the railing, not walking down the stairs. Marty wondered if he could run away while the boys were being hit for not listening to their mom and for making so much noise first thing in the morning. Everyone would be distracted and might not notice if he ran away. He hugged DaKota. How could he run away and leave DaKota behind? He might have to wait a little longer. Besides, he really wanted to go to school.

Marty hoped his teacher Mrs. O'Donnell wouldn't ask him about what happened. She knew that sometimes he just needed to sit and read by himself. Some days it was just too hard to see the other boys and girls and wonder why their dads didn't beat them. Was there something wrong with him and his mom that made them bad? On those days Mrs. O'Donnell would let him sit and read quietly. She gave him math problems to work on too. Sometimes she would even let him eat his lunch inside while he read. He helped her with her chores. She had five children and didn't need to do so many chores at school. He was a good helper. Other days he didn't want to go home so he would stay and get the classroom cleaned up for the next day. Twenty seven kids made a big mess. He even got to help the little kids. Last week he had taught them how to play basketball. His basketball coach thought he would make a very good coach one day.

Then the man Bernard peered around the mom in the doorway. They exchanged a grown up glance. Bernard smiled at Marty. "Good morning!" he said. "I hope you are hungry. Aunt Barbara makes the best pancakes on the planet!"

Marty got out of bed. He was relieved to find his Superman pajamas were dry. His mouth was dry too. His stomach rumbled at the thought of pancakes. Last night's dinner had been Campbell's Chicken and Noodle soup. At the end of the month there wasn't much food in the Brandel house.

Marty followed the two parents down the stairs. Was he supposed to call them his aunt and uncle?

He hesitated at the threshold to the kitchen. Maybe he should call his mom. Suddenly he didn't know why he had left his own house in the middle of the night with Uncle Bernard. Maybe his mom didn't even know where he was. Maybe she was mad at him for leaving.

"They're s'more pancakes!" Mark happily exclaimed as he stuffed his mouth full of the cakey chocolately goodness. "What are s'mores?" Marty croaked. The two boys looked wide eyed at their mom.

"Do you like chocolate and marshmallows, Marty?" Aunt Barbara asked.

"Yes", croaked Marty. His throat was pretty sore this morning.

Aunt Barbara put a plate of pancakes in front of him. "Well you should like these pancakes then. If you don't, I'd be glad to make you something else," she said, smiling at him.

Marty thought about his mom. She made some really good pancakes. Sometimes she even let him put as much syrup as he wanted on them. And she didn't mind if he ate at Ray's house sometimes. Maybe he should wash the dishes for Aunt Barbara to thank her for the pancakes. His mom would be proud of him for thinking of that. That made him happy so he raised his fork and took a taste.

When they had all finished eating, and Marty had two big glasses of milk, Uncle Bernard told the boys he had some exciting news. "We're going to go to our summer cabin in Idaho early this year. As a matter of fact, we're leaving today. But I need your help. Mark and Jim, you need to pack your suitcases." The two boys started jumping up and down and yelling. "Don't forget your underwear this year," Uncle Bernard yelled above the noise of the boys, "Hopefully you've learned your lesson that just because you don't pack it doesn't mean you don't have to wear it. "

He called the two boys back to tell them, "When you're finished come straight downstairs and start helping your mom and I load the van." The two boys high fived each other and went pounding up the stairs. From their excited chatter, Marty gathered they were quite excited about missing the rest of the school year, and fishing, and canoeing, and bike riding, and …. Now they were too far away for him to hear any more.

Marty thanked Aunt Barbara and Uncle Bernard. "Should I call my mom to come pick me up?" He asked. He wasn't quite sure where he was. He didn't really remember the drive over here last night or even getting into bed. Maybe it wasn't too far and he could walk home. Sometimes adults insisted they needed to drive him home. They seemed like that kind of adult.

Just then the doorbell rang. Marty jumped up. Maybe it was the cops. Maybe they were coming to arrest him. His eyes traveled around the kitchen, finding the back door. Should he run for it?

"I'll get it", Aunt Barbara said, taking off her apron as she walked briskly to the front door.

Uncle Bernard put his hand on Marty's shoulder. "It's okay, son. Your mom is here."  
Marty thought he might get sick right there on their blue and white checkered tablecloth. The tears started rolling down his cheeks.

Then Uncle Bernard stood up. "Roberta", he said, giving Marty's mom a hug. Marty looked up at his mom. She had been crying. Her face has some bruises and some bandages, the kind she got when she needed stitches. But she didn't look mad at him anymore.

"We'll give you two some time to talk," Aunt Barbara said as she and Uncle Bernard left the room.

Marty had lots of time to think about what his mom said over the next few days. First, they had they long drive to Idaho. He'd never been in a car that long. Luckily Jim and Mark had lots of books he hadn't read yet so he brought those. Some of them were a little scary so he only read them during the day. At night he liked to read Sports Illustrated. He wanted to impress Ray with how much he could learn about the Clippers and the Vikings over the summer.

Aunt Barbara also had lots of snacks in the car for them. They must be rich, he decided. After swimming in the hotel pools each night, he slept really well. But the whole time he missed his mom. No one made fun of him for holding on to DaKota the whole time in the car AND at night in bed.

His mom wasn't mad at him at all. She said she was sorry for yelling at him. Funny how she thought she hadn't taken good care of him when he had actually not taken good care of her. Best of all, she promised to come visit him. It turns out she used to go to Idaho in the summer with her parents and so she was excited that Marty got to go. That's how she knew Uncle Bernard and Aunt Barbara. She told him all the fun things he would get to do.


	2. Journey

**_Authors note:_**

 ** _Thanks to all who read, reviewed, followed and favorited!_**

 ** _Thanks to all the other authors out there who continue to entertain us with stories of our favorite characters and who inspired me to share mine._**

 ** _With this second chapter we move into the main focus of the story._**

 ** _As I read about Season 8 it is clear that my story in no way reflects what has happened on this TV series. But we've all hoped for something different, haven't we?_**

 ** _This chapter starts when the team returns to the US after rescuing Agent Blye in Afghanistan. It ends up… well you will see where it ends up._**

"Was that a camel? I thought we left Afghanistan? " a drowsy Kensi questioned. Deeks' eyes fluttered open briefly. His eyes felt like they had been sand blasted and keeping them closed was helping.

"That", remarked Sam "was a camel." "And we are definitely not in Afghanistan," added Callen.

"I thought we landed at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne", Deeks piped up. Kensi started at his voice so close to her ear and settled back against him with a sigh. She had stopped shivering at some point during their long flight but now that the sun was going down the chill was starting to seep into her bones again. Thank goodness Deeks' body temperature always ran high. Plus leaning into him cushioned her sore body from some of the bumps in the road. Plus…

"You are all delusional," Granger said as he leaned forward towards the two men in the front seat from his perch in the middle of the vehicle, "There are no camels in Wyoming."

"That", remarked Sam "was a camel." "And we are definitely in Wyoming," added Callen, although I don't think we saw any camels in Afghanistan, he thought to himself.

I must be delusional, thought Kensi, because I was about to remind everyone that Deeks can ride a camel. Maybe I'm worse off than I thought.

Callen pulled out his phone as it rang and relayed Nell's message to the team. "We're staying at a safe house in Cheyenne tonight. Hetty wants us on the road early tomorrow though."

"You cold?" Deeks asked quietly. Kensi was glad for the relative privacy of the very back seat of the Suburban as she nodded and tucked her nose into Deeks' chest to warm it up.

Deeks carefully took his coat and draped it over her, weaving his arm around her under the coat. At this point he could care less what Granger thought of him and Kensi being wrapped around each other, as they had been since they got on the helicopter transport in Afghanistan. It was hard to believe she was finally home. Well, not home yet, but at least in the US, and with him.

He closed his eyes and wondered if his career were over. It was worth it, he thought, even though later he knew he would regret torturing the cleric. Another black mark on his soul, he thought grimly.

He looked down at Kensi. Was he strong enough to be by her side during her recovery? God, he didn't even know how she was injured. How she would recover. If she would recover. A chill ran down his spine.

And how was he supposed to help her? Kensi was not at all like his mom. She certainly was not like any of the women he'd dated. She needed to figure this out on her own and wouldn't want him to rescue her. Heaven's knows he'd gotten into trouble for trying to do that in the past. Just cleaning the dried on goo off the tops of her assortment of shampoo, conditioner and other hair products had been a big mistake.

Maybe they could take a trip down to Mexico. Do some surfing. Eat some seafood. Lie on the beach. Be a normal couple instead of just partners.

It was Nate's voice calling out a welcome that pulled Kensi from her semi-conscious state. He must have arrived at the Cheyenne safe house first. As soon as she had warmed up she had zoned out, focusing all her energy on stifling her aches and pains.

She didn't want to move. She didn't want to talk about it, at least not tonight. But she knew Nate was there for her. The sooner she convinced him she was fine, the sooner she could get back into the field. With Deeks.

So with a grunt, she climbed out of the Suburban, stumbled into Nate's embrace, threw up on his shirt and then collapsed in his arms.

"How badly is she hurt?" asked Nate as Deeks wordlessly pulled her from Nate's arms to carry her into the house.

"We're not 100% sure but let's get an IV started. She's very dehydrated and I want to push the antibiotics; we're not sure what she may have been exposed to in captivity." Sam was quick to respond.

"Hetty has an MD arriving later tonight," Nell announced as she held the front door open, "and I took the liberty of ordering from Olive Garden for dinner.

"Did you order some of that Salmon Bruschetta that Eric posted on Facebook awhile back? "  
"What about Tiramasu?" Deeks asked for Kensi, who opened her eyes and looked longingly at him. Or maybe she was thinking about the tiramisu. Either way, he'd take it.

"I'd like to go to Red Lobster for steak and shrimp," Sam requested.

"That food will give you a big ole butt," Granger replied. "Let's go for the Olive Garden. And don't forget the salad."

Nell and Callen had the same thought and exchanged a look. "Did he just say….?" Nell started. Callen laughed and shrugged.

"How can I help?" Nell asked Callen as the two made the final trip to unload the team's suitcases out of the minivan Nell had somehow commandeered.

"Deeks hasn't slept since we left Afghanistan," Callen started, "And I bet neither have you," she finished, hugging him with her free arm. Callen sighed and leaned into the hug. It was good to be home with his team. Should he be worried that he was in no hurry to see Joelle? And that he couldn't help but glance down at Nell's low cut dress?

Back in the house, Nell took charge. "P- U! You all stink! First priority is to get cleaned up! Granger, you take the shower upstairs, Deeks, you take the shower downstairs. Hurry up so your dinner doesn't get cold.

Nate, I have the address for the Olive Garden keyed into the GPS for the van. Can you go pick up dinner? "  
"Done," said Nate, deftly catching the car keys thrown his way.

"Uh… "Nell started. "Oh, right- let me go change my shirt first," Nate said, pulling the offending item away from his chest.

Deeks stopped by Kensi's bed in the master bedroom on his way to use the en suite shower.

"Can you help me in the shower while Granger's upstairs?" Her mismatched eyes pleaded with him. Even though she had cleaned up in Afghanistan, she couldn't get the smells out of her nose. The smoke from the fire along with the smell of her own sweat and urine were making her nauseous.

How could he say no? Deeks looked at Sam, poised to put in an IV needle. "Make it quick," was all he had to say.  
"Thinking about me, you, and a quickie in the shower?" Deeks said, weakly leering at Kensi as he steered her into the bathroom. "That is NOT what he said," Kensi retorted with a snort.

"Guys," Sam whispered, pointing to the vents, "Granger's right upstairs."

Closing the bedroom door behind him, Sam joined the group in the kitchen and wrapped Nell in a big heartfelt hug.

"Ugg- you are the best hugger of the group but you smell like a GOAT!" Sam laughed, loudly pronounced that he was the Greatest Of All Time, and then quietly filled her in on the shower situation.

"Why are we whispering? Is Kensi asleep?" Callen asked in a hoarse whisper as he peeked into Kensi's bedroom. "Oh," was all he said when he saw an empty bed. He had hoped to find Deeks asleep in the bed.

"Why is Nate here?" Sam asked of Nell.  
"Nate is here because there is a new protocol in development for recovered prisoners of war and the Navy wants him to incorporate it into Kensi's recovery," she filled them in.

"Will he travel with us up north to the next safe house?" Callen wondered. "Doubtful," replied Nell, "Hetty has found other things for him to do. She's pretty confident that an extended rest and time with the team is all Kensi needs to recover."

"While we've got a few minutes why don't you brief us on the next safe house?" Callen suggested to Nell. "I think you're going to like it," Nell started. Out came the tablet and Sam and Callen listened carefully as she briefed them.

The lights from the minivan shone in the front window as it swung into the driveway. "That's my cue," Nell said, grabbing the suitcase she had packed for Kensi from the foyer and heading towards Kensi's bedroom. No need for Nate to know Deeks and Kensi were showering together. "Save me some tiramisu!"

Surprisingly the door to the bathroom was open when Nell entered the master bedroom. She was afraid to look, in case she was interrupting another one of their "moments," but instead she found Kensi sitting on the vanity with her head resting against his chest while Deeks was gently blow drying her hair. Kensi was bundled up in a thick robe and Deeks was shirtless but wearing his jeans.

Neither replied to her comment that they both looked they were about to fall over, so she set the suitcase on the bed and took out some comfy clothes for Kensi and handed them to Deeks. Deeks looked at her blankly but closed the bathroom door. A few minutes later they emerged with Deeks leading a now clothed Kensi and gently setting her in the bed.

"Food's here so why don't you grab a bite while I talk to Kensi a few minutes, Deeks".  
"Uh, sure, I'll just go grab a bite, "Deeks mumbled as he scratched his head. "It's okay," Kensi assured him. "But save me some tiramisu?"

Kensi settled a little deeper into the bed once Deeks had left the room.

"It's good to see you," Nell began as she leaned over to give Kensi a quick hug. "You too", was all Kensi could manage. "Let's talk girl talk before Sam and Nate come in. What do you need?" Nell implored.

The two conversed quietly for a few minutes and Nell had a pretty good idea of what she needed to do by the time Sam and Nate made their entrance. "Be quick," Nell advised them. "Get her hooked up to her IV and let her sleep."

"Why are you making coffee at this hour? " Sam asked as Deeks dumped coffee into the filter and ignored his question.

"Now that's a man after my own heart," Callen said a little later, as Deeks cut a small piece of tiramisu and put it on a plate, "eating dessert before dinner." Deeks gave him a small smile before taking another plate and helping himself to some of the Salmon Bruschetta that Nell had indeed ordered from Olive Garden.

The coffee and dessert sat undisturbed until a short time after Sam and Nate escorted the doctor in to see Kensi. When the yelling started, Deeks jumped up so quickly that his chair clattered to the floor. He leapt to the kitchen counter, poured a cup of coffee, added a fork to the dessert plate, and entered the bedroom. A short time later, the yelling stopped.

Nell and Callen exchanged a glance before getting up to stand in the doorway.

Deeks handed Kensi the cup of coffee as he sat down beside her on the bed. She looked agitated but after a reassuring look from him, took a sip anyway. A few sips later, she had calmed down considerably. Enough to finally notice just how tired Deeks looked. And yet how wired. Uh oh.

Deeks started feeding her small bites of tiramisu until her eyelids started drooping. Deeks stood up, took the cup of coffee from her, setting it and the plate on the bedside table. Kensi lay down on the bed, facing away from the doctor, Nate, and Sam, who witnessed the taming of the beast in silence. Nell and Callen retreated back to the kitchen without being noticed. Deeks pulled the covers up around her shoulders and looked up at the small group at the foot of the bed. "Too soon," was all he said before heading back into the kitchen.

"Too soon," Nate repeated to the doctor as he motioned him out of the bedroom.

Sam stayed to draw some blood for the necessary tests and to check on Kensi's IV.

"Sam…" she started weakly. "I know," he answered, rubbing her back and reassuring her, "Callen will be watching him tonight."

Callen looked at his watch through bleary eyes. 1 AM. He peered down the stairs. No surprise- Deeks was still up watching TV. Sam was going to kill him when he found out he'd been stuck sharing a room with Granger and Nate while neither Callen nor Deeks were sleeping in the room they were supposed to be sharing. Well Sam had wanted him to keep an eye on Deeks. Besides, Callen would do just about anything on a mission but driving a minivan was pretty low on his list. This would be a perfect excuse to let Sam drive. And Sam always wanted to drive. After all, he was the one used to driving a minivan. And it was only an 8 hour drive.

Deeks stared at the TV screen, not quite awake, not quite asleep. Thoughts of the Afghanistan mission swirled around in his head, interspersed with scenes from his childhood. Maybe he WAS just another thug with a gun. Was there any difference between his behavior and that of his dad's?

He rubbed his his jaw. "Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting," he thought, remembering his Sun Tzu from the book Hetty had given him, _The Art of War_. Guess it was one thing to read the book and another to act on it in the heat of the moment.

How was Kensi going to react when she found out what he had done? Maybe it didn't matter. She had, after all, chosen. What did he expect? She said she didn't want to choose but he persuaded her to choose him. Or he thought she had chosen him. Temporarily or not, one some level she had chosen the job over their relationship. Their partnership. Or maybe she was right, she did have to choose. Except she had to choose over and over again between him and the job. God, he needed some sleep.

Movement reflected in the window across the room caught his eye. Callen must have decided to stop spying on him. No. Wait. Was that Kensi? What was she doing up at this hour?

"Hey," was all she said before sitting down next to him on the couch.  
"What are you doing up? I thought you'd be out for hours."

"Guess I'm just missing…Monty," While sharing the queen bed with the diminutive Nell was not a problem, she kept waking up with her mind racing a mile a minute, her heart in her throat. Several times she had awoken to the feeling of someone hovering over her. She'd start and sit up. Just as she'd start to fall asleep again, she'd hear the crackle of fire and men's voices in the distance. Not very restful.

Then she started thinking of Deeks, wondering where he was sleeping. Or if he was sleeping. Nell had mentioned that Deeks had not slept.

Fortunately they had the formula for getting him to sleep figured out. Damn that Sideroff.

"Move over," she said, grabbing the throw from the back of the couch. Deeks knew where she was going with this. "Are you sure? What about Granger?"

"Move over," she said, pushing his shoulder. She lay on her side with her back pressed against the couch, throw pillow under her head and one arm crooked over her ear. Deeks moved into his position, facing her, with his head tucked under her arm and breathed deeply. After they'd managed to put the throw in place over them, he pulled his head back and turned his blue eyes up to her mismatched ones. She nodded. Sighing, he settled back in and slipped his hand into the back of her pants. His fingers found the callused skin where her gun usually rested and gently rubbed it before stilling.

This is NOT what he imagined when he called them Partners with Benefits, he thought as he took another deep breath, and finally relaxed into sleep. But not before telling Kensi that they had saved her some more tiramisu. And there was ice cream in the freezer. And Oreos in the pantry. Kensi chuckled as she listened to his unintelligible noises. He couldn't stop talking even when he was asleep.

Another thing to NOT tell Nate, thought Kensi. Their "thing" was too complicated to pick apart. If her armpit "pheromones" put him to sleep, what did that mean for their love life? He couldn't keep his eyes off her breasts during the day but at night all he wanted was to touch her butt.

Should she tell Nate how much she ached for Deeks next to her (without mentioning their crazy sleep positions) while she tried to keep herself alert and alive in the caves? She'd have to tone it down and talk about how she missed her partner and how she felt no one had her back. It sounded like something a normal agent would say. Good, then, she had something to tell Nate that sounded normal.

After a quick glance to be sure that the throw was covering all the important parts of them, she brushed a kiss into Deeks' hair. As his body heat eased the cold out of her bones, she finally relaxed enough to think she might actually fall asleep. Maybe his pheromones had the same effect on her as hers did on him. Crazy. She must be crazy. She needed to sleep.

Sleeping on the airplane had been easy. She just wanted to shut her eyes and shut down her mind to everything. But now… the mission and its consequences bounced around her brain. She had grieved for Jack for how many years? Her love had never been enough for him, had never been what he needed even though at the time it was what she wanted, what she needed. Why had Hetty sent her on this mission? What if she had killed him? Would she ever have even known that it was Jack? Was this the career she thought it would be or just another of life's deceptions? Was she willing to be a pawn in Hetty's game until one day it killed her? Was there more to this life for her? Love? A Family?  
Or did she even have a choice? Would Hetty keep her on as an agent after this? Maybe she'd end up as a bounty hunter after all.

Hetty was the one who had suggested that someday she would want to come home to more than a bunch of antique weapons. At the time that had seemed fine for her. After all, if it was good enough for Hetty. Deadly and feminine…. It was what they were.

Deeks stirred restlessly against her. The couch wasn't long enough for him. They never were. "Scoot up," she whispered and adjusted her position so he could put his head on the pillow next to hers. He groaned softly, threw an arm around her, and then settled back to sleep. She hadn't been gone long enough for their bodies to forget how they fit together on a couch.

She sighed. He looked so young when he slept. She thought about his childhood. About her childhood. Had anyone held him when he was hurt? Comforted him when he cried? Had his parents let him sleep in their bed when he was afraid? Probably not. At least she'd had her father to protect her, comfort her, for her first 15 years. And maybe, just maybe, she had been a little too hasty, too stubborn, to cut out her mother, to live on the streets instead.

"I've got you," she whispered before leaning in to kiss him. No nose twitching from Deeks tonight, she noticed, before giving in to the relative luxury of the soft couch, the strong arms that held her, and total exhaustion.

Callen sighed as the partners settled in on the couch. Hope Granger didn't see them. Guess it was time for him to find his own bed. Alone.

Just as lay down on the bed, fully clothed and above the covers, a ping from his phone made him open his bleary eyes. Another text from Joelle? Ugg.

"I need you in the downstairs bedroom" was all the text said and all it took for him to spring from the bed and soundlessly make his way downstairs. Maybe he wasn't going to sleep alone tonight after all.

Nell had given up on sleep. Kensi was tossing and turning and moaning before she left to find Deeks. Nell's mind was working though the upcoming mission. When should she fill in the team? She pulled out her tablet and got to work.

"Gotcha!" she said triumphantly, as Callen entered the bedroom. "Well I guess I'm all yours," was Callen's reply.

Nell scooted over to the middle of the bed. "Come on up," she said, patting the side of the bed. Callen didn't hesitate to kick off his shoes and join her.

"Look at this," she said, handing him the tablet. He may or may not have inadvertently looked down the front of her top as she leaned forward in her excitement.  
"What am I looking at?" Callen said, turning his focus to the photo on the tablet. He tried to make it sound like he was sighing instead of breathing in her scent. Joelle smelled like… crayons, most of the time. Nell smelled very feminine and enticing. How had he not noticed this before?

"The mole" she replied and then clarified, "The suspected mole." Nell and Callen looked at the ambiguous mop of hair that took up the screen. "Looks more like a shaggy dog than a mole."

"Well he's the one that has been writing the blog that has been under surveillance by the CIA. Recently some of his remarks have lead us to believe that he knows the location of the Mission and that he knows some of the routines of yet to be named NCIS agents.

"This is the first time I've been able to snap a photo of him through the laptop's webcam. There are regular entries to the blog but he's only logged on to the Internet sporadically, and for very brief periods of time. "

"So he's pretty sophisticated then?"

"It appears so", she said, settling back with a sigh. If she was going to catch him in the act, she'd have to switch up her game plan.

"I know we have a lot to do tomorrow before we hit the road but quite frequently he is online between 10 and 10:30 AM on Tuesdays. Maybe I could at least get a location on him tomorrow morning before we head north."

Just then both of their phones pinged with a text message. It was Sam, with a simple, "Bed Check".

Nell's eyes went round and she started to climb over Callen as she asked, "Where are Kensi and Deeks?"

"Out like a light on the couch, and they really need their sleep," said Callen as he pulled Nell down beside him and pulled up the covers. He didn't notice the sly smile on her face as he turned to face her, wrapped an arm around her, and closed his eyes. No better time to practice an undercover op as husband and wife, she thought. And if it helps Kensi and Deeks, who was she to complain? Granger couldn't complain about those two if she and Callen were sleeping together, could he? Well, he could….

Sam waited a few minutes after sending out his text before claiming a bed in Callen and Deek's bedroom. He needed to get away from Granger's snoring. Just as he settled in, he heard a loud thump downstairs. With stealth and speed belying his size, he made his way downstairs. Deeks was sitting on the floor rubbing his head.

What did he do? Fall off the couch? "Head upstairs to your bed," Sam suggested.

With a petulant "No", Deeks looked at Kensi, who had now claimed the whole couch, and got up and leaned back in the recliner. He couldn't shake the bad dream that led him to fall off the couch. He and Monty were running on the beach when they came across a body with the throat cut…. Kensi's body. A shiver went through him.

Sam continued to clear the downstairs, smirking at his partner pretending to snore into Nell's hair, and went back upstairs to claim the unused bedroom.

Deeks went to the kitchen for a drink of water and decided ice cream was really what he needed.

He scooped up some Rocky Road for himself and reclaimed the recliner. Half awake, Kensi sat up on the couch. "Ice cream?" Deeks took another spoonful for himself and passed the dish to her.

He picked up the TV remote and started flipping through the channels.

Suddenly, and with her mouth full, Kensi pointed at the screen and said something that sounded like "Think!" Deeks moved over to the couch to claim more of his ice cream.  
"Watch this with me?"

"I don't know… it's pretty late." Deeks look at his watch. "Or pretty early. Is it another one of your scary movies?"  
"Yes, it's about a team of scientists in Antarctica who discover an alien buried in the ice. This must be the remake they did a few years ago. "After another spoonful of ice cream, she held the empty dish up to Deeks. "More. Please."

Deeks found Callen scooping up two bowls of ice cream in the kitchen.  
"What are you guys watching?"  
"It's either called Think or Thing. It's one of those scary movies Kensi likes to watch."

"Oh- The Thing! I've heard that's really good," Nell said, brushing up against Callen as she grabbed her bowl of ice cream and left the room.

"Guess we're watching a movie," Callen noted to Deeks as he left to join the ladies.  
"Guess we were in Afghanistan just long enough to adjust to the time difference, "Deeks thought to himself as he loaded his dish up with more Rocky Road.

Rather than sit on the couch between Nell and Callen, Deeks sat on the floor near Kensi's feet, as she had claimed the recliner. It didn't take long before the other three were pivoting their heads between the TV and Deeks.  
"What?" He asked as innocently as he could.

"You- you- you- You said you were undercover!" Nell gasped.

"You said,' Don't worry, Fern, I'll be back'," Kensi blurted out. Deeks shrugged and gave a small smile. If he weren't so exhausted this would be a huge moment for him.

Nell and Callen shared a bewildered look before turning back to the TV.


	3. Trust

**_Perseid's meteors streaked though the skies,_**

 ** _One star fell before my eyes._**

 ** _Bringing joy to a new day,_**

 _ **Welcome to the world, Esmé.**_

 **Morning came too soon.** Somehow the late nighters had found their own beds before dawn. Granger was off at an early hour. A friend of his had a ranch in a nearby town and they were going to ride horses. Nate texted that he would meet up with them later. Who knows what that meant.

Nell monitored the suspected mole for activity on his blog. Her hunch was finally rewarded at 10:15 AM when he logged in long enough for her to find his location. "Very interesting," she said to herself, wondering if Hetty had known all along that the mole was in Wyoming, near the very town that the team was headed to that morning. She did a double take as Deeks lurched into the kitchen, heading for the bathroom, just after she had been able to discreetly activate the suspect's laptop camera. She quickly captured a photo of the suspected mole before abruptly shutting down her tablet. Callen watched as she sat wide eyed, taking deep breaths.

"Care to share?" he inquired.  
"Let's talk in the car," was all she could say. Callen was intrigued.

As Callen had already loaded their bags into the minivan, they said their goodbyes to Sam and Kensi. Callen again listed his arguments about why he should be the one driving the Audi that had mysteriously appeared that morning, and not the minivan, but Sam just gloated. Shrugging his wide shoulders and grinning widely, he reminded them that they had to wait for Deeks.

"Just what would you do to get to drive this car?"  
"What do you mean? I would do just about anything. I hate driving minivans."

"Would you take a job at McDonald's?"  
"You know what? I think I would. Because then I wouldn't have to hear your smart aleck remarks day and night."

Sam smugly taunted, "Heartbreak is life educating us" before escorting Kensi out the door and into the prized Audi.

Callen looked impatient as they heard the shower turn on. "He took a shower last night. Why does he need another shower?"

"Didn't you see Kensi's ice cream dripping onto his head last night during the movie? He was out like a light. Believe me, he needs a shower. Go see if he wants anything at the coffee shop while I look for one on the GPS. It will give us a few minutes to talk."

Callen joined Nell in the minivan after a brief conversation with Deeks.

 ** _"_** So it turns out we should have asked Deeks more questions about this movie he was in," Nell started.  
"Why?"  
Nell handed the tablet to Callen. "Here is the photo I snagged of the suspected mole this morning."

"But that's Deeks. Are you sure you're monitoring the right computer?" Even as he said it he knew Nell was never wrong and that Deeks had been nowhere near a computer that morning.

"Yep. And apparently Hetty is one step ahead of us on this. The other Deeks was at the Jackson Hole Public Library this morning."

"And we're going to Jackson. Or near Jackson. Do you think the other Deeks was the one in the movie we watched last night?"  
They just looked at each other and shrugged.

After picking up their coffee and pastries, they headed back to the safe house to pick up Deeks.

Callen came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Deeks jumped.

"What are you doing man?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm vacuuming. "

"Well Cinderfella, let's get going. Sam and Kensi left a half hour ago and we need to catch up to them."

"Let me just take one more look around for my hoodie. I thought I had my hoodie but now I can't find my hoodie, and it's my favorite …." Deeks' voice faded away as he moved around the house looking for where he might have left the hoodie.

Callen took the driver's seat in the minivan.

"Before we talk to Deeks," Nell informed him, "Beale is going to review the social media and other records for the Deeks look-alike. Let's see if that gets us any closer to figuring out if he's actually the mole. And if there's any tie to Deeks."

"Good plan. There's no way Deeks is the mole or knows anything about it." Callen replied, "What led us to this guy in the first place?"

Nell just shrugged as Deeks jumped into the backseat. "Hetty," was her only explanation.

 **Once Sam and Kensi were on the highway** , relaxing in the comfort of the leather seats of the Audi, Sam decided it was time to broach the subject he and Callen had been wondering about.

"So," he started. "You and Deeks…"

Kensi spat out a bit of the coffee she was sipping. "Wha-? What do you mean- me and Deeks?"

"Oh, come on, the cat's out of the bag. Apparently Deeks has more skills than we give him credit for. I can see you keeping a relationship from the team but I thought for sure he'd give you guys up. So when did it start? Was it when you were undercover as a married couple?"

Kensi choked on her coffee.

"Really? Before then? Was it when King nailed you in the jaw? We know Deeks was over at your place that night."

"No! No! No! Deeks is my PARTNER… Nothing happened when we were undercover together and nothing happened the night King hit me," Kensi managed to protest. Sam handed her a napkin to blot the coffee off her shirt.

"Well something certainly happened the night that ISIS bastard bit you, because it wasn't just the suspect's DNA that they recovered from the bite. Deeks' DNA was there too." Sam knew he had her now.

"It was probably just a stray hair of Deeks' that they recovered, not his saliva, he sheds more hair than his dog," Kensi's protest a bit weaker this time.

"So it was his saliva, huh?" Sam got a good laugh out of that. It wasn't often he tricked Kensi into giving him any information.

"Well…. It was a rough night. I don't really remember."

"A rough night? Let me refresh your memory. First they had to put the hospital on lockdown because you were throwing syringes and any other potential weapon you could find at the doctors and nurses."

"That was only like…. two minutes." Kensi's protests were even weaker at this point.  
"Two minutes? It was a full hour before Deeks gave the all clear and the medical team was able to come in and take a look at your wound."

"Well," Kensi started, reluctant to think about, much less share, the details of that night.  
"Come on, Kensi. Tell me what happened that night."

Kensi took a deep breath and rambled, "When I lived on the streets… that is after my dad died, I took off…. "

"I know that. What does that have to do with that night?"

"One night I was attacked," she finally blurted out. "I thought I had found a friend and was in a place where it would be safe to sleep through the night. I was so exhausted. I was only sleeping a few hours at a time and that was with one eye half open. But my "friend" wasn't a friend. Her boyfriend attacked me while I was sleeping and he…. he… he bit me! Right on my breast. About where that ISIS SOB bit me."

"So you killed him?"

"Well no but …"

"But it explains why you were out of control the night that you were bitten during the mission," Sam finished for her.

"I guess so. But Deeks. Deeks, he…."  
"Deeks calmed you down."  
"Yes. He didn't even flinch when I threatened him with that syringe. And this time he really did trip before he dropped like a rock."

"You totally nailed him with that syringe. Luckily it was just a sedative."

"Well I did kind of lose it when he bent down to check the bite. But he's my partner so…."

"Partners, right. Partners who hold each other, kiss each other's wounds, SHOWER TOGETHER! …. Or partners who work together to get the bad guys?" Sam raised his eyebrows and glanced over briefly to gauge Kensi's reaction.

Kensi sighed, pushed her seat back down and turned away from Sam. "Good question," she thought to herself, "good question." And hid a small smile because she was pretty sure Sam and Callen were still clueless about her trip to Vegas with Deeks. He did have skills. And a nice warm hoodie that smelled of him which she pulled up around her shoulders with a contented sigh.

The night when she had injected Deeks with the sedative… uggh. That was a terrible ending to a terrible week.

 _Deeks had been undercover as a homeless person. Initially she hadn't been too worried about him._

 _He was supposed to be playing a peripheral role. Just surveillance._

 _The first sign of trouble came when she got a text from a number she didn't recognize. It just said "bear paw." She had looked down at the Danish she was eating. It was a bear claw, not a bear paw. Since she was sitting at her desk in the mission, it seemed doubtful that the text was about her pastry. A second text came through. It was a location. Sam was busy chaperoning Kam's class on a field trip to a museum, so Callen partnered up to Kensi to see what might be waiting for them at the location. It wasn't until they were a few blocks away that it hit Kensi- Deeks called Monty his little bear. Maybe Monty, who was undercover with Deeks, had been injured._

 _Sure enough, Monty was waiting for them at the texted location. He was panting heavily and had an injury to his paw. There was also a little blood on his head. Was it Deeks blood? Both Kensi and Callen looked around surreptitiously for Deeks but there was no sign of him. Kensi put a brown bag containing a few cold bottles of water, part of her candy stash and some cash under a bench where Monty had been waiting. Hopefully Deeks was close enough to see her leave the gifts for him. Callen assured Kensi that Deeks would get help if he were wounded. Kensi just said, "I know," and wished she were as convinced as Callen was._

 _Nell located the nearest vet, who was able to treat Monty. Monty had been sitting on top of a cell phone. Nell purged Deeks' texts from the cell phone and made arrangements for she and Eric to return the phone to its owner. The owner was a young teen who had left it behind at a coffee shop._

 _That night Kensi stayed in Deeks' apartment with Monty. She wanted to be close to him in case he needed anything. Monty couldn't jump up on the couch or the bed and so Kensi ended up sleeping on the floor next to him. She'd have to remember to put the pillow back on the bed. Deeks was funny about things like that. A few minutes after falling asleep, she woke up disoriented. There was a flashing light under the bed. The flashing light was coming from a small black box._

 _"_ _What could that be?" thought Kensi. The hair on the back of her neck rose up. Was it a bomb? Had Deeks gotten in too deep? Had he been made?" Kensi looked over at Monty. Monty was a bomb sniffing dog. If Monty wasn't reacting to it, it couldn't be a bomb. Or could it?_

 _Closer investigation revealed the wires coming from the black box were plugged into the wall. Definitely not a bomb then. What the - Could it be an old fashioned answering machine? Yes, it could. And the light was blinking. Kensi pulled it out from beneath the bed by the phone cord. The number "12" was flashing. Did he have 12 new messages? He'd only been undercover a few days. How could he have 12 messages?_

 _Impulsively she started pushing buttons. A female voice started speaking- "Hey Party Marty- This is Marie. Call me." Then, "Hi Marty, this is Melanie. I have a gift for you. Call me when you get a chance." Then, "Marty, it's Lea. Did you get a chance to check out my youtube video? Text me." And, "Hey you, it's Monique. Will 0429 work for you? Give me a call." Twelve messages, all from young women. The final one was from Brita, who had just called that day._

 _Kensi was sitting on the floor hugging her knees, rocking back and forth. She was fuming mad, and fuming mad because she was jealous of these woman. Angry, she corrected herself. She was angry, not mad. Dogs go mad. Humans get angry._

 _Angry enough to want to throw that answering machine against the closest wall. Deeks had told her that Brita was a bitch! And when did he have time to meet up with all these women? He was always with her. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner together most days. Except those weekends when she had sniper classes, and those evenings when she went out with her friends, and those days when he disappeared and claimed he'd been surfing._

 _She spent the rest of the night telling herself that Deeks was better off without her. He should marry a movie star and have adorable towhead babies. He deserved to have a normal life away from her. Or maybe they could plan a little trip away, just the two of them the next time they had a few days off._

 _Fortunately Kensi didn't have to wait long before Deeks surfaced again. Hetty, through means that only Hetty knew, had his location and sent Kensi, Sam and Callen to back him up. LAPD had scheduled a raid on the human traffickers that Deeks had been keeping an eye on. He discovered the traffickers had moved their shipment up a day._

 _The raid was over as soon as it began. Once Kensi saw Deeks she let down her guard. That was her first mistake. The second was letting the unarmed man get too close to her. The bite took her totally by surprise. Deeks launched himself at the man, smashing the assailant's head into the pavement. Sam and Callen finished corralling the group and checked on the junior partners._

 _"_ _We're going to the hospital Kensi," Deeks insisted._

 _"_ _We are NOT!" Kensi retorted, wincing in pain with the exertion of her statement._

 _"_ _Let Sam look at it."  
"No I am NOT letting Sam look at it."  
"Then we're going to the hospital!" Deeks spat out.  
Sam and Callen exchanged a glance. Then Callen distracted the pair while Sam grabbed Kensi was behind. Unfortunately when he pinned her she struggled, which aggravated her wound. _

_She was livid. Deeks was too tried to think straight. "Let her go!" he yelled. Several LAPD officers came over with weapons drawn. "Stand down," Deeks directed them. Kensi pulled herself free from Sam and walked away.  
"Son of a witch!" Deeks snarled, turning his back to the group and grabbing his arm. Kensi was immediately there to check on him. Despite her own pain, she drove him to the hospital. And then erupted when she discovered it was a ruse to have her bite checked out. _

_Seeing those young girls who had almost been sold by human traffickers had been a shock. It hit home with her just how vulnerable she had been out on the streets when she was a teenager. Little had she known how lucky she was to survive that rebellious time in her life. That coupled with the surge of emotion she felt when she saw Deeks made her feel so vulnerable she had to lash out._

 _By the time Callen drove them home and they had both showered neither one could keep their eyes open. Deeks had sacked out on the couch with Monty, who was doing much better. The two of them were taking up the whole couch. She eyed the bedroom. Should she just go home? Man, she was tired. Without a word to Callen she slipped under the covers in Deeks' bed. Callen could just get over himself. She was tired of his smirking._

 _Her biggest mistake of the long day came a little later._

 _Once she heard Callen leave she found herself wide awake. She got out of bed and watched Callen's car disappear from sight from behind the curtain. Then she wandered into the kitchen. Nothing good to eat in the fridge or cabinets. She took a bottled water from the fridge and walked into the living room. Monty opened an eye. He seemed happy to be home and to have Deeks home. Monty gently eased himself off the couch. Kensi realized he probably hadn't been out in hours.  
"Let's go out," she said, picking up his leash. He didn't need to wear it but it made her feel better. She slipped on a pair of Deeks' flip flops, grabbed a hoodie from the hook at the back door, hooked the leash to Monty's collar and headed outside. _

_The short walk helped her clear her mind. Kneeling down by the edge of the couch near Deeks' head, she bent down and impulsively gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. It hadn't ended there. Deeks' eyes fluttered opened and he reached out for her. He puckered up for a kiss and then pulled her onto the couch with him as their lips touched. She needed him so badly in that moment. And he needed to sleep just as badly. Kensi knew firsthand what it was like to try to find a quiet and safe spot to rest when homeless. She sighed as his body relaxed against hers. Half awake, he kissed her once more. As she felt him drifting off again she gently pulled her lips away and simply said, "Sleep." He slept. Eventually she slept too._

 _The next morning she awoke to a call from Ops. Deeks had the day off but drove her to the mission anyway. Maybe Deeks didn't remember the kiss. Usually he wanted to talk about everything but he hadn't brought it up._

 _She thought about him in the shower; sometimes he came back from the bathroom flushed and a little sweaty from his own release. She bought a box of condoms and hid them under her bathroom sink. He talked about little getaways they could take. Vegas. Baja. Maui._

 _She let him buy the toilet paper. When she put a box of tampons in her basket, he grabbed a duplicate box and put it in his._

 _Her hand gravitated towards his when they were sitting in her car on stakeouts._

 _Not only did she let him put sunscreen on her back when they were doing surveillance at the beach but she insisted that she apply his first. She bit her lip at the thought of helping him scrub the sunscreen off._

The rev of the Audi as Sam accelerated to pass some trucks woke Kensi from her reverie. She sighed at the memory of kissing a sleepy Deeks. A full minute later, Kensi faced Sam again.

"It's no big secret that you keep Tootsie Pops in the glove compartment for Callen, you know. Partners- huh?"

"Those lollipops are for Kam! If Callen gets to them first, well that's one less dental bill for the Hannah family." Sam couldn't help but smile at Kensi's lame retort.

"Well you and Callen shower together all the time," Kensi pointed out.  
Sam laughed. "We shower together in the locker room, in separate showers!"

"Well I needed to shower because the smell of smoke in my hair was making me nauseous. On the plane I kept waking up and smelling smoke… and thinking I was still on the floor of that cave waiting to die. And I was too tired to stand but just had to get that smell out of my hair…" Kensi couldn't continue.

"Look," Sam continued, seriously this time, "My point is this: You've been through hell. And your partner went through hell getting you back. Something happened over there…. Well, there's a few things we still don't know about what happened in Afghanistan to you AND to Deeks. But you're partners, so you have to take care of each other. And given your history with Deeks, if you have to step over a few boundaries to do that, then that's what you should do. In the end we're all human beings and despite our training if we don't deal with these traumas, they come back to haunt us. And if there's one thing I've learned is: If you're in love, enjoy it. Don't deny yourself the comfort of another person just because you've chosen this career. Life- our lives especially- are too short."

Kensi had leaned back again and turned her back on Sam. She heartily faked a snore. Sam laughed and turned up the music.

Kensi couldn't help but think about last night's shower.

" _It was bad." It wasn't what she meant to say but she was exhausted and all she could say at the time. With bowed head she swayed slightly and hoped she could hold the tears in._

 _"_ _Shhhh," Deeks had responded, helping her sit on the bathroom vanity and standing close, running his hands up and down her back. His gentle touch was so soothing. It was a relief to finally be alone with him. She leaned forward to rest her head on his chest._

 _"_ _Wouldn't you rather take a bath?" he finally asked._

 _"_ _No. Just a quick shower."_

 _Deeks pulled her sweater over her head and then hesitated. He pursed his lips. "How do you want to work this? Do you want to take the first shower?"_

 _She shook her head no and pulled weakly at the hem of his shirt. He took a deep breath, pulled his shirt over his head, removed his shoes and socks, and stepped out of his jeans. No boxers for Deeks today. Then he turned his attention back to her. Reaching behind her, he felt underneath her shirt for her bra. She wasn't wearing one._

 _"_ _I used it to fend off rats and bats," she explained. Her father would have been proud._

 _Deeks stepped back. Looking down, he ran his hands through his hair. She took his hands in hers as he took another deep breath, overwhelmed. She thought he might cry. She reached out with her long legs and drew him back towards her. Finally he took a deep breath and his teary blue eyes met hers._

 _Suddenly a loud noise from above them caused them both to start and look to the ceiling._

 _The initial banging was followed by Granger's gruff voice belting out a tune._

 _Back door Sally won't you let me in  
I'm out here in the alley can't you hear me knocking  
I'm nervous as a pussycat in a dog pound  
Come on Sally girl stop your messing around  
We can have lots of fun, balling to the break of dawn  
Back door Sally won't you let me in?_

 _Another round of pounding- was he drumming on the shower wall? Then just as suddenly as it began, the Granger danger was over._

 _Kensi snorted. She'd grown to respect Granger more on her most recent mission. He certainly was a man of surprises. So serious most of the time, yet Crazy Like A Fox._

 _"_ _Is it a full Moon?" Deeks joked. Kensi smiled as best she could._

 _"_ _Come on._ _I still want that quickie in the shower," he whispered. She loved his impish grin. He tenderly removed the remainder of her clothing._ _And he was certainly up for a quickie, she couldn't help but notice. She, on the other hand, could barely keep her eyes from crossing. And who wants a quickie in the shower anyway, she thought, unless it starts in the shower and moves into the bedroom. When she had finally Deeks alone it would be anything but quick._

 **Once Nell had navigated G onto the highway** , Callen started thinking about his team. He and Nell had discussed many times, MANY TIMES, whether Kensi and Deeks were a couple. And now… if Deeks were involved in something he shouldn't be… did that mean Kensi was aware of it? Were they both hiding something critically important from the team?

G thought back to the incident with the Red Team. Had they been a couple then? Nell had said no…..

 _"_ _You're sure?" G had asked Nell the question many times and each time her answer was the same._

 _Kensi and Deek were not "together together" despite all evidence to the contrary._

 _When the team bunked up with the Red Team, G had asked again. Nell immediately knew what he meant when he texted her "You're sure?" She had the same answer she always had: "Yes, I'm sure." Even though it was 2 AM and he knew he had woken her from a sound sleep._

 _Later G had given her the details._

 _Deeks and G had been sitting in the kitchen/laboratory. Kensi had come out of the ladies' bunk room and gone into the bathroom. Shortly after that Paris came out. Deeks blurted out to Paris: "What the hell?" Then he picked up his phone and started texting. Paris looked embarrassed. G just looked between the two of them, wondering what had just happened._

 _Paris sat down and G figured it was as good a time as any to work through the details of their next day's mission._

 _When Kensi came out, Deeks had shepherded her into the guys' bunk room, rambling on about movie night. As the door closed, G heard Kensi asking where the chocolate was._

 _Paris apologized about Kensi. G still had no idea what happened. He briefly wondered how Deeks had figured it out. And then wondered why he questioned their bond._

 _"_ _It's all good," he replied, figuring Kensi would get over whatever it was that had gone on between them. Besides, there was work to be done._

 _By the time G made it back to the bunk room, Kensi and Deeks were sharing the bottom bunk, watching a movie on Deeks' tablet. Except Kensi was asleep and Deeks was watching her and not the movie. Deeks reached over and tapped her foot with his. Given the narrow width of the bunk, they were practically right on top of each other._

 _"Wake up Kensalina, it's time to go back to your own bed." Deeks prodded._

 _"_ _But it's movie night, can't I just stay…", Kensi started to say, only half awake. Deeks looked up wide- eyed at G and quickly put his hand over Kensi's mouth._

 _"Wake up Kens," Deek persisted, "We're bunking with the Red Team tonight. Either you go back to the ladies' bunk room or snuggle up with Granger in his black silk pajamas. "_

 _Kensi was finally awake enough to realize what was going on and had a horrified look at her face._

 _"_ _See you in the morning then" she said a little too quickly as she rolled off the bunk._

 _"_ _Here's your phone", Deeks said as he passed it to her. "Paris texted and wanted to run tomorrow at 0700 and I accepted for you."_

 _"_ _Dammit Deeks!" Kensi grumbled sleepily, "Did you hack my phone again? You didn't change my ring tones did you?"_

 _"_ _Just the important ones, darling, just the important ones", Deek replied with a grin as Kensi pretended to storm out while actually giving her partner a big smile._

 _But what was with the raised elbows and twirling of the pony tail that made Deeks practically fall out of the bunk? Why did Deeks peel off his T shirt and throw it at her? The shirt went with Kensi but only, she claimed, to put it out of its misery. Those two were a mystery to him._

 _G kicked Deeks out of the lower bunch and put up with the texting for half an hour while running through case scenerios in his head before threatening to take away Deeks' phone. There was work to be done and he hoped his team would be able to get a good night's sleep. They seemed to need it even when he didn't. At least since he was up most of the night he could make sure everyone slept in their own bed. Except Paris- she was up and down all night too.  
_

 **Kensi heard her vertebrae crack as she stretched beside the Audi.** It felt good to finally take a pit stop on their way up north. Her body was sore from sitting so much over the past, well, too long.

Sam was filling the car with gas while the others walked into the convenience store. But where was Deeks?

She walked over and peered into the minvan at his slumped form. "Hey", she said, knocking on the glass and repeating it when she got no response the first time. Still no response. She slid the door open.

Finally Deeks cracked open an eye to see what was going on.  
"Hey sleepyhead. Aren't you going to get up?"

"No. Too tired." The reddened eye had closed again.

"Do you want me to buy you something at the convenience store?

"No, I'm fine," he replied without opening his eyes.

Standing in front of the refrigerated display case, she finally realized what was bothering her. Deeks didn't have to pee. Didn't he hydrate for the desert? No wonder he was so tired and out of it.

Nell caught up with her as she started loading up on cold bottled water and green tea.

"Thirsty much?"  
Kensi conceded a small smile at the analyst's humor.

"It's mostly for Deeks. He's dehydrated."

"And you know this because….."

"Because he always has to pee and he didn't come in to pee. You guys didn't stop anywhere else, did you?

"No, we haven't stopped. But if Deeks drinks all that, we'll be stopping pretty soon."

Sam heard the tail end of their conversation as he approached them. "What's with all the drinks? You know we're not stopping again until we get to Jackson."

They all turned as the bell on the front door jangled and Deeks walked in.

Kensi sighed and her shoulders visibly relaxed as she saw him walk towards the restrooms. Gently Nell took a few bottles from her grasp and put them back in the cooler.

"Let's get some snacks," she suggested, leading the way to the junk food aisle.  
Grabbing a package of trail mix for Deeks, Kensi wondered if the team had had the pleasure of seeing Deeks hyped up on sugar while she was gone. Until that moment she had been too caught up in her own mission to think about Deeks with another partner. Who had he worked with? She'd have to ask. When she could handle the answer. What if he and Nell…..? No, best not to go there. Not when she was fighting trying so hard to hold back the tears and put on a brave front for the team.

 **A satisfied smile graced her face as she felt her heart pumping** , wiped the thin sheen of sweat from her brow and looked into the brilliant blue eyes of her partner. He… glowed. And grinned. This- just this- was what she had needed for so many months now. She leaned into him and as he wrapped an arm around her, she listened to his heart as it slowed to normal. Even though she was warm from the exertion, the heat radiating off his body felt so good. So good.

Sam and Callen had run right by them, oblivious to their hiding spot.  
Deeks, as usual, had known what she needed. When she was cranky and irritable about getting back into the car, he challenged her to a race to the corner. Once there, they kept on running, or hobbling in her case, laughing as they went. When they realized Sam and Callen were racing behind them, she'd found a spot for them to hide so they could double back, effectively beating Sam and Callen back to the cars.  
She had missed this, this best friend of hers, this partnership, and the little moments of joy that went with it.

By the time they got back to Nell, who was patiently waiting for the mad troupe, Kensi was almost ready to be cooped up in the car for another few hours.

"I could use a burger and a shake," Kensi announced as Sam and Callen approached the cars.

"One burger and shake, coming up!" Nell declared as she searched for nearby restaurants on her tablet.

A sudden loud noise had the group springing into action. Callen and Sam had guns out and ready as they all ducked behind the minivan. A sigh of relief came when an old car passed by in fits and starts. The loud noise was just the car backfiring. Deeks quickly holstered his…. fingers…. before anyone noticed that he had no gun.

"Reminds me of my friend Joe," Deeks started.

"Not another story about Joe" Sam put a hand up to stop him.  
"But he-"

This time Callen interrupted Deeks. "We know- BOOM! Now let's go get some burgers."

Sam was closest and able to grab Kensi as she suddenly started hyperventilating. He led her to the minivan, and sat her on the floor of the backseat. When she started pushing him away, Sam made way for Deeks. As the others watched from a distance, Deeks gradually sat down next to her. Eventually she let him put an arm around her shoulders. He was talking softly the whole time.

When it looked like Kensi was calming down, Callen, Sam and Nell walked away to talk.

"We're pushing her too hard," Sam started, "She's very fragile right now and being fragile is enough to drive her crazy…."

"Let me talk to Hetty," Nell suggested. "Is there really any rush for us to move up north?"

After Nell had walked away, Callen suggested that he and Nell continue north while Sam stay with Kensi and Deeks. That would give Kensi another night to rest. He and Nell could get supplies and get settled into the safe house. Sam's only concern was that any medication Kensi might need was being sent to the safe house near Jackson. He motioned to Nell and asked her to find out if Kensi's test results were back.

"Good news and bad news," Nell reported.

"Good news first," Callen suggested.

"Well the good news is that of the test results that are in and the only health issue Kensi has is that she's a little anemic. Some of the microbiological results won't be in until tomorrow anyway so she won't be missing out on starting any medications at this point."

"And the bad news?

"The bad news is that we don't have a safe house nearby so we would have to stay at a hotel. Beale is lining that up for us now."

Sam and Callen exchanged a brief look before Callen turned to Nell. "What if you and I continue up north and leave Sam to follow tomorrow with Deeks and Kensi? Are you up for that?"

"That's a really good idea. We have a lot of ground to cover and that would allow us time to get supplies for the safe house and to work on our mole investigation." Nell tried to act nonchalant about getting to spend the extra time alone with Callen.

They all looked back at Kensi and Deeks. Kensi looked tired but calmer. Deeks looked tired and stressed. Nell looked at the guys and said, "Let's get some burgers and shakes."

 **The next morning Sam was glad he had taken Nell's advice and slept in a hotel room by himself**. It looked like there may have been a ….frat party? in Kensi and Deeks' room. The bedding was off one of the beds and there was a distinct smell of something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Best not to ask.

Kensi was sleeping on her stomach with her head at the foot of the bed, spread out like a starfish. Deeks was curled up in the middle of the bed, knees practically to his chin, with his head on her butt. The covers were mostly on the floor. Milk bottles and Styrofoam food containers littered the floor. The TV was on with the volume turned on low.

Deeks raised his head to Sam's second "Good Morning!"  
"Hey", he said, sitting up on the edge of the bed and running his hand through his hair.

"What time is it?"

"It's only 8. I was going to hit up the Starbucks and wondered if you guys wanted anything. Or maybe you would rather go out to breakfast?"

"Coffee sounds good," Deeks said, standing up and picking up a pillow that had fallen on the floor. "Could you bring back some fruit too? Maybe some banana bread? I'd love to go for a run this morning if you wouldn't mind hanging out here."

Kensi's eyes opened and she raised her head in confusion.  
"What's that on your face?" Sam asked. Kensi's answer was incomprehensible.

Deeks took a wet washcloth and wiped the moustache of something brown- chocolate? off of her face.

"There's an Applebee's just down the road that was open until midnight and had several decadent dessert choices," Deeks explained, "and we needed them all."

"Go back to sleep," he suggested, rubbing her back, "Sam's going to get us some coffee and breakfast. You can sleep a little longer."

She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

Sam looked at the bags under Deeks' eyes. "Rough night?"  
"Yeah. I have a feeling they are going to get worse before they get better."

"Well grab a few more Z's and I'll wake you up when I get back. I'll take my time- say 30 minutes. Going for a run is good idea. This has got to be incredibly stressful for you."

Deeks sat back down on the bed and sighed. "Can you bring over your extra towels too? We used all the ones we had."

Sam closed the motel room door and took a deep breath. He really didn't want to do what he was about to do, but if someone had to do it, maybe it was a little better for everyone that he was the one to do it?

Hetty had decided they should leave surveillance equipment in Kensi and Deeks' room overnight. If Deeks were the mole they needed to know if Kensi were involved. And as soon as possible. This would have been one of their first chances the two would have to talk alone in months so they couldn't miss the opportunity. Sam hoped all they did was talk.

Sam engaged the surveillance device and settled back into the seat of the Audi with a sigh. Suddenly, he stopped the recording. "Screw this," he said to himself. There was no reason to spy on those two and he wasn't going to be part of it.

After Sam left, Kensi asked if Deeks would show her some more photos of Monty. Deeks stood in front of the bed facing the TV and said, "Sure, let me find them for you."

The night before Deeks had casually taken a photo of the surveillance camera and then showed it to Kensi under the guise of showing her photos of Monty. She understood immediately and went along with the ruse.  
"Here's one of him NOT catching the Frisbee," Deeks laughed, "because he was so smitten with that lab across the beach."  
Kensi faked a snort while looking at the photo Deeks had just taken and verifying that the camera had been removed. "He's so funny- look how irritated he looks at you, interfering with his quality time with his lady friend." They had to assume the room was bugged as well.

Deeks best cover was to start rambling, so ramble he did.  
"Yeah, the owner was really nice too. She was from somewhere in the East- Connecticut I think. Her dog's name was Hermione.

Kensi tried to suppress a yawn.  
Deeks was tired of rambling. "Why don't you lie down for a while? I'm going to clean up a little before Sam gets back."

They both looked at the room. It was a disaster.

It made Kensi tired just to look at it so she got back in bed and closed her eyes while she listened to Deeks talk to himself while he was cleaning up.

"Well you took TWO bites of Triple Chocolate Meltdown, which is more than you ate of the applechimicheesecake or the blue ribbon brownie. BUT you ate ALL of the ice cream. So maybe, just maybe, you were thirsty and not hungry, as I, your partner, pointed out from the very beginning…"

 **Later, as Kensi and Sam walked around the park while Deeks went on his run** , Kensi tried to find a way to ask Sam about the surveillance camera. She was worried she and Deeks might be separated again. Would he be sent back to LAPD? Would she be reassigned with no notice again? Why else would they think they needed to spy on them? Because of her mistakes in Afghanistan? Because of the change in their relat- partnership- before she was sent to Afghanistan? Ugg. Hetty was an enigma wrapped in a riddle tied in ramen noodles. And she was so tired she wasn't making any sense even to herself.

"You have nothing to worry about. Just focus on getting well. The rest of the team, we've got your back," It was as if Sam could read her mind.

"And Deeks?" she asked. "Who has his back?"

Sam wrapped an arm lightly around her shoulders. "We all do."  
She breathed a sigh of relief.


	4. Nallen

**"** **DId you say, "Well Hun-?** Yes, I will write that down. No, I would not want to forget that. Thank YOU Hetty." Nell pushed the button on her ear wig, jotted a note on the paper she was holding, and turned to Callen.

Callen crossed his arms, matched Nell's smirk, and couldn't resist asking: "Did you just call Hetty 'Hun'?

"Don't ask. Let's get back to this list we're making."

"Interesting how flustered that request made you. " Callen made a mental note to ask Hetty. "Why don't you run through what we've discussed so far and see if it triggers anything else?" Callen suggested.

Nell settled back into the couch. Which was too big for her, as usual. Her feet couldn't touch the ground and her legs were at a weird angle. She looked out at the majestic mountains, still snowcapped, and sighed. Such a beautiful place. With these views, it was worth sitting on an uncomfortable, lumpy couch. Next to Callen.

"Good idea. We started with Deeks' childhood. Father is deceased. Shot father when he was eleven in self-defense. Mother's status is unknown. She was also abused by the father. Participated in and excelled in sports. Excelled academically. Passed the bar on the first try. Maintains his membership to the California Bar Association. Childhood friends- only one that we know of, Ray, of dubious character. One dog, Monty, who we haven't seen in a while."

"Did Beale check that Ray is still in witness protection?"  
"Yes, he did. If Deeks is the mole, Ray does not seem to be involved."

"Any other living relatives? Marriages? Viking mob ties?"

That raised a smile from Nell. "Unknown. Unknown. And Unknown. Well, let me qualify that- Hetty knows and isn't saying."

"Then why isn't she helping us with this Encyclopedia of Deeks?" Callen demanded. "I'm going to call her right now-"

As he grabbed his phone out of his pocket, Nell took hold of his wrist. "She wants us to do this independently. Ideally we'd have Kensi and Sam here to help us with this but at least we can get it started."

"Speaking of Kensi and Sam, how would they describe Deeks?"

"Well Sam would say he is loyal, a hard worker, a comedian, and a bit of a slob. Oh, and he's secretly studying up so he can beat Deeks at 'Geeks who Drink'."

"And Kensi would say Deeks was delicate, a clean freak, fights for the side of good, annoying, sexy-"  
"Are you sure that's not YOU saying this?" Callen teased.

"What?" Nell didn't have to lean far to bump Callen's shoulder. "This is all Kensi's perspective. "  
"We're not making much progress on our own. I guess I don't know as much about his life as I should."

"I wish we could call Kensi. "

"Yeah- she's the Wikipedia of Deeks all right."  
"The **_WikiDeeks_** **?"** They both got a chuckle out of that. "You know what? I'm going to call this list **_'_** ** _WikiDeeks'_** ", Nell declared, writing it in bold black and lime colored letters at the top of the page. She loved the colored Sharpies.  
"And since we're getting nowhere, let's call Eric and see if he can send us Deeks' financial information".

Nell hesitated before she made the call.

"You do realize that Deeks is not the mole and would never leak information associated with the group."

"After what he did in Afghanistan to get Kensi back and to save Sam and I…. there's no doubt in my mind. Actually there was no doubt in my mind before that. And I still don't understand why we're investigating him."

They looked at each other and said, "Hetty" simultaneously. Then the whisper of a thought entered their minds. Neither dared say it aloud. Both were wondering how long they would be blindly following Hetty's lead.

 **Callen looked over at Nell as they drove into town.**  
"What are you so Fired Up about?"

Nell looked surprised. "Has it ever occurred to you that you are always out in the field and I am always stuck in the office? I'm usually just part of The Backup Plan. So it's nice to get out of the office. For all I know Hetty will have me back in the office in less than 24."

"Here I thought you were just looking for some Local Boys," Callen joked.

"Get Real. I saw you eyeing The Hot Chick, Mr. Eagle Eye."  
"Actually I was looking at the sign for the BeerFest."

"That's a BrewFest. There's the library up ahead- pull in and we'll scope it out. Keep an eye out for surveillance cameras in the parking lot. Then we can at least pretend to be House Hunters and scope the place out. Hey- where are you going?"

"There's a war memorial over here. Sam had an instructor in SEALS who was always looking for a buddy of his who died at Pearl Harbor. He was a gunner I believe. Let's go see if his name is on the memorial."

"Well as long as we're parking and walking around… Do you want to take a stage coach ride?"

"Sure, I'd be up to a Loop around town," Callen said, casually draping his arm around Nell's shoulders.

"How about going to a movie?" Nell wasn't sure how much free time they would have.

"Maybe. Just Not Another Teen Movie."  
"What do you mean "another" teen movie? What movies have you and Joelle been watching?"

"Oh, you do not want to know that. Come on, let's take a selfie with the arch of antlers."

 **"** **Hey Guys- I have Deeks' financial records for you."** Nell and Callen were on their drive back to the farm when the call came in from Beale. Nell video conferenced in on her tablet.

"Anything unusual?" Callen asked.

"No, it's all pretty standard. Rent, truck payment, utilities. Credit card for gym fees, gas, coffee, restaurants-just what you'd expect. He does have one payroll deduction to a charity called Pets of the Homeless. I checked it out and it's legit- the only national animal organization focused completely on feeding and providing emergency veterinary care to pets of the homeless."

"Doesn't Kensi have a payroll deduction for that charity as well? Nell asked.  
Callen and Beale were stunned. Callen turned to Nell. She gave him her best poker face.  
"Why would Kensi donate to that charity?" Callen asked.

"Confirmed. Kensi also donates to Pets of the Homeless. But it's through a text: 'Text GIVE16863 to 80088 to donate $10.' The charge shows up on her cell phone bill."

"And you're sure it's a legitimate charity?" Callen probed.

"It most certainly is," Hetty chimed in, startling them all by sneaking up behind Beale.

"Does Deeks have a storage locker?" Nell wondered.

"Negative. Or at least not one that he pays for with a credit card. But…"  
"But, what, Beale? Does he have a storage locker or not?"

Beale adjusted his shirt collar and craned his neck nervously. "Deeks doesn't, but Kensi does."

"There's, um, nothing significant in Kensi's storage locker," Callen volunteered. "She just likes her stuff."  
"And you know this because…" Nell raised her eyebrows in question.  
"Mr. Callen," Hetty spat out. "We've had this discussion before. Just because you are trying to entertain yourself while you are up half the night doesn't give you the right to violate your team members' privacy."  
Callen looked down, somewhat contrite.

"Hetty, we are not finding any evidence that suggests that Deeks knows this potential mole in our organization." Nell wanted to wrap the investigation up and hoped Hetty would agree with her.

"Agreed," Callen added. "Let's not waste our resources on Deeks- Beale, take a look at the periphery staff. Anyone who makes deliveries to the mission or who has limited contact with our agencies' staff."

"Will do," Beale said with a bouncy step as he made his way across OPS before signing off.

"What's that?"  
"What's what?"  
"What's with that little bouncy step Beale does all the time now?"  
"Oh, THAT!" Nell knew the answer. She hoped Beale wouldn't mind that she was sharing his secret. "Well, Hetty was concerned that Beale spent all his time cooped up in OPS and in his little online game world, so she decided he needed to expand his horizons. He doesn't live in the real world like the rest of us. He rarely interacts with people outside the office, unless it's an online friend who he's never met in person. And even he admits to being frustrated with interacting with 'normal people' at RenFaires and ComCons. He tried a few different things but ended up taking some acting lessons and it turns out he's quite good. At acting. And singing, which was a big surprise even to Beale. Although it also makes perfect sense since he's acting at the RenFaires and ComicCons. I think the bouncy step is kind of an 'exit stage left' type move."

"Well that makes sense. If we ever need him in the field he needs to be able to interact with a wide variety of people. And he has seemed less fidgety lately."

"The best part is that he has met someone he really likes. I suggested that he talk to you about how to negotiate a relationship when so much of our lives can't be shared with the outside world. I take it he hasn't asked you about that?"

"No, he hasn't. And I'm glad for the warning. It's definitely a difficult thing to manage. Joelle think I'm at a convention. I lied and said my boss was supposed to go but had a family emergency at the last minute so I said I would go. When she asks when I'll be back, I avoid the question. Because I really don't know. I thought we'd be right back home after rescuing Kensi but here we are in the middle of nowhere. We haven't been dating very long but already I can see she trusts me less and less. She wants to go to a few different concerts this summer and I said I would go but you know that there's a good chance that I won't be able to. Maybe I should have told her I was a fireman or someone with a less predictable schedule. That would help explain my bruises and injuries too. But wait- I thought you two kind of had a Thing?"

"Me and Joelle?" Nell gagged on her Cowboy Bhakti Chai.  
"No, you and Beale."

"Hmmm. How do I say this? We're more like Brothers and Sisters.

Nell sighed.  
"I know," Callen chimed in. "It can be frustrating."

"What? No, Beale and I are good. I was thinking about Deeks and our potential mole. All we've found out is that the mole is always at the library during toddler time, which might not be significant at all."

"And Hetty gave in way too easily when we diverted the investigation away from Deeks and the mole." Callen added, completing her thought.  
"And that is Beyond Belief," Nell couldn't help but add.


	5. Chapter 5

**A small sliver of light from the moon** made the headlights shine like spotlights in the dark night. Marty peered out the window as the car slowed. There were no houses in sight. Just some dark shapes that Aunt Barbara had said were the mountains off in the distance and a few trees clumped sporadically by the side of the road. Marty struggled to stay awake. The car bumping over the dirt road disguised the bouncing of his legs for a little while. When the other boys in the back seat complained, he switched to pinching his legs. It hurt but he had to stay awake!

Sitting in the car for long hours that first day, he had come up with a plan. His initial relief after talking to his mom had dissipated as the hours dragged by. What if this was a trap? What if his dad could find him? There was no way he was going to shoot him again. Maybe his dad wanted to shoot him now. And if his mom couldn't protect him, how could these people? He hugged DaKota to his chest.

Uncle Bernard had noticed him studying the maps in their hotel room that first night and had walked him through their route across California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and finally into Idaho. Aunt Barbara had suggested they take the longer drive through Utah since Marty had never been there. Marty couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

That night he lay in the hotel bed thinking about his situation. It might be harder for anyone to find him if they took a longer way to get wherever it was they were going. But he needed to stay sharp. Even though his mom thought the trip would be good for him, he thought he better be able to escape just in case. Or he might need to tell his mom how to find him. Maybe he could look in the car for loose change tomorrow morning in case he needed it to call his mom. His buddy Moose wandered in and stuck his face into Marty's. Then he jumped up on the bed. Marty sighed, threw his arm around the gentle beast, and finally relaxed and fell asleep.

Three days later they were finally arriving at the farm in Idaho. Marty's brow was wrinkled in concentration. He leaned forward to see between the two adults in the front seat. Last night when Uncle Bernard had shown him their route on the map, he said there was no map for the roads they were taking to the ranch. "Just some old farm roads out in the middle of nowhere."  
He was pretty sure the map in his notebook was a big mess. It was too dark to see what he had drawn. And too bumpy to continue to draw. Mrs. O'Donnell had only given him one notebook and he had no money to buy another one so he didn't want to mess it all up. He'd have to figure out an excuse to drive back to that little town so he could see the route in the daylight. Maybe they had a bike he could ride. Good thing he had a good memory.

 **"** **How did you find this place?** **I thought you were going to call when you left the interstate,"** Callen asked as he helped Kensi from the car.  
"Guess I was just on autopilot," Deeks said wearily, stretching his long limbs.

"Autopilot?" Sam was stretching too and looking around at the open space, a far cry from the dense LA city streets they were accustomed to.

"GPS," Deeks corrected himself. "I used the GPS."

"Really?" Nell had her doubts. "The GPS found this place? I didn't think it even had an address."

"It has an address. And hopefully a bathroom. Let's go inside. It's cold out here and I gotta pee."

"Wait a sec."  
Deeks stopped at Kensi's command.

"It's so quiet out here."

They all took a second to listen. Coyotes yipping, a blast of wind blowing through the trees, then nothing.

"Quite a nice change from the blare of the radio for the past 500 miles," Deeks couldn't help but tease.

"'I Can't Live Without My Radio', "Sam admitted.  
"Drives me crazy," Callen added as he herded the group into the farmhouse.  
"The 'Candy' wrappers you leave all over my car drive me crazy," Sam retorted.

"Did you bring any candy?" Callen couldn't help but ask.

"You don't need any candy," Sam replied.

"Kensi has candy," Deeks offered.

"DO. NOT. GIVE. HIM. ANY. CANDY. He'll be up all night." Sam grabbed their go bags and brought them inside.

Nell stirred the pot on the stove. "Who wants dinner?"  
"How long have you two been married?" Deeks inquired, grabbing two bowls and taking them to the stove to get stew for Kensi and himself.

"Oooh, garlic. It's going to be a rough night," he said to himself.

"I am not gassy," Kensi piped up.

"That's why we had to have the windows cracked open for the past 200 miles?" Sam threw out.

After Deeks set the two plates and himself down at the table, he suddenly stood up again.

"Root beer!" Was all he said as he walked across the kitchen.

"Sorry, I didn't see any root beer in the fridge," Nell said, opening it again to double check.

"What about in the cellar?" Deeks asked.

"There's a cellar? Don't you mean basement?" Callen asked quizzically.

"This cellar," Deeks said as he opened the door covered by a display of antique tin pie plates.

Nell and Callen exchanged a glance. In the 24+ hours they'd been in the house they hadn't noticed the door. How had Deeks found it so easily? How had he known to look for a cellar? And why didn't he call it a basement?

Deeks stepped into the dark, Callen at his heels. Reaching out, Deeks swung his arm around until he found the string to turn on the bare bulb overhead light. Below them was a flight of wooden stairs. Callen followed Deeks down, glad that Deeks was pulling down the spider webs ahead of him as he went. At the bottom of the stairs, Deeks reached over and turned on the light switch, illuminating a small room. Wooden shelves on two sides of the room held canned goods. An old refrigerator hummed in the far corner. As Deeks pulled a bottle of root beer out of the refrigerator, Callen turned 360 degrees, examining the room from top to bottom.

"Could be a bomb shelter," he thought aloud.

"Or a tornado shelter," Deeks added.

"Are there tornadoes this close to the mountains?"

"Just one that I know of- an F4 ripped through this area in the summer of 1987."  
Callen just stared at him. "And you know this because…."

Deeks headed up the stairs. "I'm hungry, let's eat," was all he had to say.

He screwed the lid off the bottle and set it in front of Kensi. "I'm not gassy," she protested weakly. Secretly she was glad Deeks had thought of the root beer. It cured her stomach issues quickly. Guess it was a survival tactic for him to know how to keep them both happy on those long stake outs.

"Nell, this is really good. Perfect for a cool night in the middle of nowhere." Sam had enthusiastically finished his stew and went for a second helping.

"Wait," Deeks stopped him, "You can have mine."

"What's wrong?" Nell asked, coming over to put a hand on his shoulder.

Deeks rested his head in his hands for a minute, then smelled his hands and got up from the table to wash them. "Guess I'm just too tired to eat," he replied. "I'm going to get settled in. What are the sleeping arrangements tonight?"

"Why don't Kensi and I share the master bedroom down here? There are two bedrooms upstairs that you guys can share." Nell suggested. Was it her imagination or did Callen's face drop just for a second before he turned back to his dinner?  
Deeks turned away and started walking towards the staircase then circled back and gave Nell a quick hug, thanked her for dinner, gave Kensi a quick hug, wished her a good night's sleep and yelled, "I get the queen bed!" before running up the stairs.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Sam as he raced after Deeks.

"Haven't you already been sleeping in the room with the queen bed?" Nell asked Callen.

"My stuff is in there," Callen replied. But I've been sleeping on the couch down here, he thought to himself, just in case you need me.

 **Out of the depths of sleep, Deeks heard a stairboard creek.** **Then another one.**  
"Wish that Callen would sleep at night instead of stalking around the place. What is it '1 in the Morning?'" thought Deeks. He felt pretty safe in the farm house but had already decided that he could easily slide onto the floor between his twin bed and the wall, grab his gun, already stashed under the bed, and shine his cell phone light at any intruder. The bed wouldn't stop many bullets but it would at least he could prop it up for a bit of a shield should he need one. Not that he was expecting any trouble. Maybe he'd have some fun with Callen.

Sure enough, the footsteps stopped outside the bedroom door where Deeks waited and Sam appeared to be sound asleep. Deeks slid down to the floor as quietly as he could. Suddenly, Sam bellowed. There was a shriek. Deeks turned his cell phone light in the direction of the noise.

Kensi and Sam both shaded their eyes from the harsh light.

"Turn that damn light off Deeks", Sam demanded.

"Sorry- I thought it was Callen sneaking up here." Suddenly Deeks was on his feet. "Kensi are you okay?"  
She stood next to Sam with her arms hugging herself and breathing heavily. Probably trying not to cry, he thought.

Deeks made his way over to her as Sam sat back down on the bed.

Kensi started when Deeks reached out to touch her arm.  
"Sorry Sam, I saw that head of hair and thought you were Deeks."  
Sam took off the fur covered hat he'd been wearing to keep warm through the chilly night. He started to laugh but he saw that Kensi was beside herself.

Just then Callen appeared at the bedroom door. "Everything okay in here?" He asked.

Sam got up and pulled his sweater on. "I could use a glass of water. Let's go downstairs," he suggested to Callen, who looked questioningly around the room and figured he'd best follow Sam's lead.

 **"** **I'm sleeping in your bed-** I really need to sleep." Sam informed Callen once they were downstairs.

"Do you think Kensi is sleeping with Deeks tonight?"  
"I don't know but I don't want to stay up to find out. Just because everyone else is up half the night doesn't mean I have to be. I want to go into town tomorrow and get some presents for Michelle and the kids. Then 'I'm Going Back To Cali'."

"So you think they're a couple?"

"'Hell Yeah.' I told you about that night. They were all over each other. It wasn't just an act."

 ** _At first Sam didn't know what to think._** **** _He wished Callen were there to see this._ _Truth was, he didn't really know what he was seeing._ _He looked over at Nell._ _She shrugged her shoulders, wide eyed._

 _The night had started out pleasant enough._ _He and Kensi were undercover on a military base, where they both were posing as MP's while trying to determine if there was a black market of weapons coming into the base from contractors returning from Afghanistan._ _Just as she had when she was undercover with Callen, Kensi had been getting antsy._ _She played her part very well but she wasn't sleeping well and it was starting to wear on her._ _She snapped at Sam when they were alone or else ignored him and watched TV all night._

 _Nell and Deeks had come over for dinner._ _Their story was that Nell was Kensi's cousin visiting from Brooklyn._ _But the hidden agenda of the dinner was to see if Deeks could help Kensi relax._ _Another "conjugal visit", they joked._ _Kensi had vehemently objected to it, claiming she didn't need Deeks to help her do her job._ _She could work with other partners._

 _Fortunately Nell could smooth out any rough spots in the dinner conversation because there were a lot of them that night._ _Kensi snapped at Deeks all through dinner._ _Deeks started out replying good naturedly enough but he finally couldn't stand it anymore and started snapping back._

 _After dinner, Sam suggested Kensi and Deeks go down to the basement to pick out a movie for them to watch after dinner._

 _"_ _Nell has much better taste in movies," Kensi pointed out, "All Deeks likes is chick flicks."_

 _"_ _And all she likes is that cop show with that sexy blonde guy," Deeks threw out._

 _"_ _Oh, so you think he's sexy?"_ _Sam couldn't help but ask with a smirk._ _Deeks stood up, threw his napkin on the table, and banged his way downstairs._

 _"_ _Oh, come on._ _You're the one who always wants to watch that show._ _You're in love with that brunette detective," they heard Kensi prodding as she ran downstairs behind him._

 __ _The bickering continued all down the stairs and then all Sam and Nell could hear was a thud._ _  
_ _Sam motioned to Nell to follow him and opened up the desk in the office that hid their surveillance equipment._

 _Down in the basement, Kensi and Deeks were kissing._ _Kensi pushed Deeks up against the wall._ _She pulled back, then began arguing in a loud whisper that the surveillance equipment wasn't picking up._ _Kensi was gesturing with her hands._ _Deeks moved in for another passionate kiss._ _Kensi wrapped her arms around him and tried pushing him with her body into the center of the room while still kissing him._ _Deeks stepped back, put his hands on his hips and appeared to say, "Fine."_ _Kensi took Deeks' hand and led him into the basement bathroom._

 _Nell and Sam looked at each other._ _Nell was wide eyed._ _Sam was grinning from ear to ear._

 _"_ _What just happened?" Nell asked._ _  
"_ _Guess this really is a conjugal visit," Sam chucked as he leaned against the desk, watching the closed bathroom door._

 _"_ _Kensi knows about the surveillance equipment set up down there._ _She's playing us."_

 _Or maybe Kensi's playing herself, Nell couldn't help but think._

 **Sam settled into the queen bed** in Callen's room for the night. Someone in the group needed to get a good night's sleep. The bed clearly hadn't been slept in; he was going to have to rib his partner about sleeping with Nell while the two were alone.

Callen texted Nell.

"You're sure?" Sure, he wanted an excuse to talk to her, but he also wondered how long this "thing" between Kensi and Deeks had been going on. Kensi only seemed to be able to sleep with Deeks near her and he was starting to wonder about how Deeks started sleeping again after his torture. Then there was that time he and Kensi had been undercover…

Nell came out from the master bedroom. She needed to get Callen's mind off of Kensi and Deeks and their thing. "Want some cocoa? I think I saw some jumbo marshmallows in the cupboard."

"Sure. 'Make It Hot', it's really cold in here."

While looking for the jumbo marshmallows, Nell discovered graham crackers and Hershey bars.

"We're having s'mores!" she exclaimed, bringing plates of the ingredients over to the wood burning stove in the kitchen.

"Watch out- you're dripping marshmallow on the grate." Nell held a plate under Callen's improvised skewer and the gooey white glob at the end of it.

"That's not marshmallow- that's just ash."

"That is white and that is not ash, it's marshmallow."

"Ash is white and that is ash," Callen said.

"Ash is grey."  
"Ash is white."  
Nell won the argument by scraping the offending goo off the grate. "See- marshmallow, white."

Callen picked up his s'more and pushed it into her mouth. He picked up a speck of ash with his finger.

"And see- ash is white."

 **Once Callen and Sam were gone** , Kensi turned towards Deeks. She was wearing a hoodie and had her head bowed so he couldn't see her face very well. But he was pretty sure she wasn't "fine".

"Come over here," he said, leading her to his bed. He sat next to her. "Can't sleep?"

She shook her head. "Every time I start to fall asleep I hear their voices yelling at me and I wake up drenched in sweat. And then I get really cold. Why is it so cold in here?"

Deeks stood up, peeled off his shirt, and handed it to Kensi. "Take your shirt off and put mine on. It's nice and warm." "And Ms. Wikipedia, what % of body heat is lost through the head?"

"The same amount you would lose through your legs if you were wearing shorts."  
"Really? My mom always said 80- 90%."

"I'm too tired to explain it to you but think about the surface area of the head…"  
"Never mind. Just put on this hat," he said, reaching past her to open the door of the bedside table. He shook out the hat. She looked skeptical but put it on anyway.

Kensi sat down again. "I'm just so tired." A lesser woman would have been in tears. Hysterics, probably.

"Come here", he said, putting his arm around her shoulders and drawing her close. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. Plus the poor thing had just gotten into bed with Sam. He scooped her up into his lap.  
Initially he started humming, just to see if she would tolerate it. Then he started singing softly.

"'Hush' little baby, don't say a word.

Papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird.

And if that mocking bird won't- (Kensi jumped slightly as Deeks startled her by tucking his hands into his armpits, folding his arms to resemble wings, and letting out a loud)- SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!

Papa's gonna buy you a brand new Glock.

And if that brand new Glock won't track,

Papa's going to buy you some Yummy Yummy Heart Attack."

Kensi snorted. She was too tired to make a snarky retort.

Deeks set her back on the bed. "Let's get some sleep," he said, yawning. Truth was, he was exhausted. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"I can't…" Kensi started. She just couldn't fall asleep. "I can't sleep lying down," she admitted.

Deeks pushed the bed up against the wall. Then he pulled the quilt off the bed Sam had been sleeping in. He climbed in and sat with his back against the headboard. He patted his legs. Kensi hesitated briefly, then sat on his lap with her back against the wall. Deeks pulled the covers up and draped them around them.

"Let's try sleeping sitting up. Do you want to talk?"

Kensi thought a moment about that. There was too much to talk about. She hadn't even processed it all yet. "No. I just want to sleep for a few hours and be warm for a change. But can you 'Rub My Back'?" And she really wanted to be held. By Deeks.

Deeks pulled the quilts further up around their shoulders and settled an arm across Kensi. She slumped against him. She looked cute in the hat but he missed being able to run his fingers through her hair. He took a deep breath but only caught the scent of the musty hat, not the scent of Kensi and her beautiful hair. As if reading his thoughts, Kensi pulled the hat off her head.  
"Stinks."

Deeks draped the quilt over their heads. Much better. Except for the garlic smell. He needed to stop obsessing over the smell of garlic. And he should have eaten some dinner. He was starving but no way was he moving. Kensi needed him now. He rubbed circles around her back in the areas that weren't bruised.

"Stop sniffing my hair."

"Okay."

"It changes you."

"Of course. Of course it changes you. But you're still my bad ass partner and that hasn't changed. That won't change."

Kensi's hand migrated down between his legs. She rubbed her hand up and down the length of him and then left her hand on him.  
"That just happened," she couldn't help saying. They shared a look. "Remember- from that time we had that "conjugal visit" when I was undercover with Sam?"

"Was that our first conjugal visit or our second? I can't keep track."

"That as the second one. The first one was when I was undercover with Callen."

"Speaking of…" Deeks leaned down for a kiss. "Not too painful?"

She answered by reaching up for another.  
Deeks' soft kisses reminded her of some of their first really passionate kisses. Of course they had to happen at the most inappropriate time. Neither one was prepared to deal with it.

 _"_ _Did you bring them?"_

 _"_ _Yeah," Deeks started rambling, "I didn't know how many to bring so I brought five and then added an extra one because it's a special one with ribs and it's purple and…."_ _  
_ _Kensi grabbed the condom out of his hand and tore the wrapper off with her teeth._ _She strategically dropped a small piece of the wrapper behind the toilet._ _Deeks put the remainder of the wrapper into his pocket._ _Kensi unceremoniously dropped the condom into the toilet and flushed it down.  
"Hey, we could've still used that," Deeks protested._

 _"_ _Shit._ _Sorry."_ _Then, a burst of anger._

 _"_ _Use it with who?_ _Joanne?_ _Dawn? Janine? Hannah?_ _Or one of the other dozens of women who leave you messages on your secret Instagram account?"_ _After finding the hidden answering machine, Kensi had dug deeper and found his secret Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat accounts._

 _After obsessing over those calls and comments from all those unknown women and what they might mean, conducting her own covert surveillance, and even reading up on sex addiction, she was fed up._ _Suddenly it hit her. He had said "we"._

 _Deeks saw the deer in the headlights look and knew she had realized what he said._ _"_ _We," he began, moving closer to her and putting his hands on her legs, the better to protect his sensitive man parts from a sudden attack, "'You And Me', WE_ _are going on a vacation._ _Hetty has already approved the time off once this mission is over._ _WE are going to the beach."_

 _Kensi looked at her watch._ _"_ _What do you think?_ _Fifteen minutes?"_ _She tried to change the subject._ _They were supposed to be just pretending this was a conjugal visit._ _But it was getting out of hand._

 _She might not make it a full 15 minutes._ _Deeks was too close and she had missed him so much over the past few weeks._ _They still had five condoms left._ _Why did he bring so many?_

 _"_ _Wait here a sec."_ _Kensi ran out of the bathroom, grabbed the remote and turned on the TV before running back into the small bathroom._

 _"_ _You know we can do better than this."_

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_

 _Deeks' hand had accidentally slid under her skirt earlier and so he knew she was wearing a thong._ _He approached her slowly and ran his hand down her hip to her upper thigh._ _  
"_ _Give me your panties."  
Kensi gasped but after he nodded she reached down and inched a lacy red thong down her legs._

 _"_ _Perfect," Deeks gasped as he tore the fragile lace with his teeth._

 _He opened up the undersink cabinet and found a trashcan._ _He placed the ripped thong behind it._

 _"_ _No," Kensi said, picking it back up and tucking it into his front pants pocket._ _A small piece of frayed red lace stuck out._

 _"_ _Time?" he gulped._

 _Kensi took a deep breath._ _"_ _About ten more minutes."_

 _Deeks reached over and ran his hand through her hair._ _"_ _Take your hair down," he suggested._ _  
"_ _Oh, good idea._ _How's that?" she asked as she took out her barrette._ _  
_ _Deeks stood in front of her and ran his fingers through her hair._ _But just on one side._ _  
"_ _Hey, you got some of the lace from my thong between your teeth," Kensi noticed._

 _"_ _Is it noticeable enough?"_ _Deeks asked, grinning._ _Kensi nodded._ _He was good._ _Too good._

 _Now it was Kensi's turn._ _No way was he beating her at this._ _She reached over and undid one of the buttons on his shirt._ _Wrapping an arm around him, she adjusted the contents of his back pocket so that it was sticking out just the slightest bit._ _She tugged on one side of his shirt so that it hung loosely out of his pants._ _Lastly she leaned into him, pulling his button down shirt out of the way and leaving a just visible lipstick smudge on his bare chest._ _She was pretty sure it was Deeks who moaned after that._ _She had taken her time with the smudge, not wanting to remove her lips from his chest._

 _"_ _Maybe you should go out first," Deeks suggested._

 _"_ _A few more minutes."_ _They avoided each other's eyes._ _This was supposed to be a ruse to teach their coworkers a lesson._ _Deeks splashed a little water onto the vanity and then backed Kensi up against it._ _They both knew they were in trouble when he didn't back away._ _Kensi couldn't resist him when he was looking down at her with those puppy dog eyes._ _She had been sniping at him all night to hide the fact that all she wanted was to feel his arms around her, to listen to his heart beat as she rested her head against his chest._

 _Her lips met his and long moments passed before they stopped._ _They ignored the timer on Kensi's watch in favor of one last long kiss._ _Then a quick one._ _And another._

 _"_ _You go out first," Deeks suggested._ _  
"_ _No, we go out together."_

 _"_ _We can't do that."_

 _"_ _Why not?_ _This way we can look guilty."_

 _"_ _I'm telling you that won't work."_ _  
_ _Kensi glared at him._ _They needed to go out together._ _"_ _I hear them on the stairs!" she said, panicky._

 _Deeks leaned into her._ _Ground himself against her._ _"_ _That just happened."_

 _Suddenly she understood._ _"_ _That's what that phrase means?!"_

 _She took a deep breath and started to leave._ _Deeks grabbed her arm to bring her back._ _He looked her in the eyes, took a deep breath, and kissed her, raking his scruffy cheek against her exposed chest._ _She glared at him but managed to step out into the living room just before Nell and Sam made it into the room._

 _"_ _Well Deeks wants to watch 'Titanic', but that's three hours so I was thinking that maybe we should look at what's on Netflix and …" Kensi rambled on._ _She fumbled with the remote._ _She was genuinely flustered and it played well into their ruse._ _She was pretty sure her face turned red as she remembered the times Deeks had said, "That just happened."_

 _"_ _It's Saturday night, we can watch a three hour movie if we want to," Deeks said, coming out of the bathroom and rubbing his hands against his pants._ _He sat down on the closest couch and pulled a cushion into his lap._ _He yawned, keeping his mouth open a few seconds longer than needed._ _He was having second doubts about faking this conjugal visit but it was Kensi's idea and he had to play along at this point._ _"_ _Do we have any popcorn?" he asked, grinning at Sam._ _Sam chuckled and looked pointedly at Nell._ _Deeks turned towards Nell and yawned, stretching his mouth open and then grinning at her._ _Surely one of them would notice the red lace in his teeth._

 _It wasn't long before Nell went in to use the restroom and came out looking puzzled._ _She quickly regained her composure, in true Nell fashion. Kensi couldn't decide if they had pulled off their ruse or even if the ruse was such a good idea after all._

 _Nell had started the whole fiasco when Kensi was undercover with Callen a few months before._ _Kensi was livid when she heard about it._ _Now all she could think about were the other five condoms._ _She turned her head to hide her flushed face._

 **Too bad I'm not as prepared now as I was for that visit** , Deeks thought to himself. Not that there's any privacy around here. He considered asking Kensi if a little make out session might help her relax enough to fall asleep. Deeks started to move his hand towards Kensi's breast but realized that her body was suddenly heavy against him. She had fallen asleep.

Now what? Deeks wondered. Could they resume their relationship from where they left off? What game was Hetty playing with them now?

The earthquake started before he even realized he had fallen asleep. Not a big one, he thought. But he was wet. Why was he wet?

Kensi was watching him struggle to wake up. "I was having a nightmare and I peed my pants."

"Yes. Yes, you did. And you peed my pants too. Should we go get cleaned up?"

"Maybe later."  
"Maybe later?"

"I was kidnapped and beaten. A little pee isn't going to hurt me." Without waiting for a response, she closed her eyes and snuggled into Deeks' chest.

"A little pee isn't going to hurt me either. As a matter of fact, I might pee my pants later. We'll see. I'm pretty tired and the bathroom…"

"Deeks!"

"What?"

"Shut up and go back to sleep."

"That's my girl," Deeks whispered.


End file.
